


The Portrayals of Love

by charlottedrake



Category: PLL - Fandom, Pretty Little Liars
Genre: AU, F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-20
Updated: 2017-09-03
Packaged: 2018-12-04 12:04:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11554842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charlottedrake/pseuds/charlottedrake
Summary: Love.What was so special about it? What was it about that four lettered word that drove people insane?She didn't understand it. Not until she met her and has the opportunity to experience what love is and everything that it has to offer.





	1. Love is Stupid

Love. 

 

Six year old, Melissa Hastings never understood what was so special about that four lettered word that everyone seemed to gush about.

 

She always heard relatives, friends, even total strangers in movies or tv shows, talk about the beauty of  _ love _ . 

 

_ “It can be one of most beautiful feelings in the world.”  _ she remembers her grandma once told her,  _ “But it can also be one of the most painful.” _

 

She wasn’t completely satisfied with that answer, she had to know what was so great about that word. She had to know why Romeo and Juliet were so willing to die rather than to live without each other. 

 

Dictionaries were no help. Yes, they provided her with several definitions for the word ‘love’, but none of which would help her understand the perplexing word.

 

“There are many types of love, sweetie.” Her father, Peter, told her one day that she asked him. “Just think of it as the way you love your mommy, your baby sister Spencer, and me.”

 

“I don’t mean  _ that  _ kind of love, daddy.” Melissa said as she followed her father around the house, “I’m talking about the love that people are always talking about. Like Romeo and Juliet- like what is  _ it?  _ How is it possible to love someone in that  _ way?” _

 

“It’s  _ hopefully  _ something that you’ll understand when you’re  _ much older _ .” he made sure to emphasize the words ‘hopefully’ and ‘much older’. She couldn’t deal with frustration of not know the answer to every question.

 

“But I don’t want to wait until I’m older,” the six year old whined as she tugged her father’s shirt. “I want to know now!”

 

Peter lets out a chuckle, his eldest daughter really was quite a kid. At the age of six, Melissa was already a whole lot smarter than the average first grader. He couldn’t have been any more proud at his daughter’s magnificent level of intelligence. But of course, that didn’t automatically mean that he was prepared to answer some of the questions that his daughter would soon be wondering about, like about love and telling her where babies come from. 

 

He’d rather save those conversations for his wife, Veronica.

 

“Just look at mommy and me.” Peter then tells his daughter. “We love each other, that’s why we got married and had you and your sister.”

 

The curious 6 year old then arched her eyebrow, “You and mommy love each other? But-” she stops herself from talking. She didn’t want her dad to know that just a week ago, she had seen him kissing the woman who lived next door. 

 

She hadn’t thought much of it then, because she was more worried about getting in trouble for following him outside, after he had specifically ordered her to go to bed. She hadn’t completely realized that she had witnessed her dad kissing a woman, a woman who was not her mother. 

 

She felt her eyes start to water when she realized that her daddy didn’t love her mommy. Because according to all of the films that she’s seen, when you love somebody, you don’t kiss someone who isn’t them. And that’s what she saw her daddy do. She saw him kiss somebody who wasn’t her mother.

 

Melissa then looked up at her dad to see if he had noticed that she was about to cry. Fortunately, he had already been engaged in reading some paperwork, that he didn’t notice that she was already running off, towards her room.

 

She didn’t want her dad to see her crying. She didn’t want to tell him what was wrong. She didn’t want her mom to leave him if she found out. She wanted her parents to stay together forever.

 

The six year old girl had stormed into her room and grabbed her Romeo and Juliet Children’s Book, that her grandma had given her. She looked down at the brunette and blonde characters that were on the cover of the book.

 

“Love is stupid.” she muttered bitterly as she threw the book to the ground. 

 

**___________________________________________**

 

The next day, Peter noticed that his eldest daughter was in a gloomy mood. During breakfast, while Veronica was feeding baby Spencer, he noticed that Melissa had yet to touch her food.

 

“Hey, sweetie aren’t you going to eat?” he asks his daughter. 

 

The little brunette shakes her head, “No, I’m not really hungry.” she told him as she stood up from her chair. “I think I’m going back to my room and finish reading the books on my shelf.” With that, she walked away towards her room.

 

Peter looked over at his wife, Veronica, who didn’t seem to have noticed their oldest daughter’s strange behavior, due to the fact that she was watching as Spencer consumed her milk. 

 

Peter sighed, he didn’t know what was bugging his daughter, but he knew that he had to find a way to cheer her up. 

 

 

**___________________________________________**

 

**“** Where are we going?” Melissa had asked curiously from the backseat of their family car. Her dad had said that they were going on a family trip.

 

“We’re almost there, sweetheart.” her mother replies from the passenger seat. “Your dad said that you could use some sunshine, so we’re going to the Campbell’s Farm to go apple picking. Maybe you could make some new friends there, so you won’t have to play with your dolls by yourself.”

 

Melissa scrunches her nose as she clutched to her dolls, “No way!” she exclaims in disgust. “Kids are so annoying. I’m not letting them touch my dolls, they’ll probably break them. I’d rather play by myself.” 

 

“Come on honey,” he says as he pulls into the farm’s parking lot. “You can’t spend your whole childhood playing by yourself.”

 

Melissa shakes her head, “I’m not by myself, I have Spencer.” she turns around and finds her baby sister in deep sleep on her baby seat.

 

“Spencer is only a couple of months old,” Veronica explains to her as Peter parked the car. “She won’t be able to play with you and your dolls for at least another year or two.”

 

Both parents exited the vehicle and went to help their daughters get off as well. Melissa took in the sight ahead of her. The weather was nice, so clearly they weren’t the only family here. She heard a mixture of children’s laughter and screams, and was completely certain that she would be returning home with a huge headache. 

 

“Why don’t you go pick some apples, sweetie.” Veronica said as she carried Spencer in her arms, while Peter pulled out the stroller. “We’ll be right behind you in a moment.”

 

The six year old girl sighed, and walked towards the farm. It’s not that she was afraid of being at this place, but she was rather afraid of running into some immature kid who would steal her dolls from her. 

 

She found a place to sit down under a tree, and decided to wait for her parents there. There’s no way she was going to talk to any of these annoying kids that were screaming at the top of their lungs. She stared at the two dolls in her hands, she still hasn’t picked out a name for the blonde one. 

 

She had named the brunette one after her little sister, Spencer, and she considered naming the blonde one after herself. But she really didn’t like that idea, for one, she wasn’t blonde, and two, it would feel weird to call the doll by her own name. 

 

“What should I name you?” she asked the blonde doll as she brushes her blonde hair with her hand. Maybe she should name her Veronica, like her mom? But that wouldn’t work either, her mom wasn’t blonde. 

 

She continues to stare at the doll, still unable to come up with a name that would fit the blonde doll. What would be a good name? 

 

Alice?

 

Beth?

 

Taylor?

 

The little brunette had been so occupied with coming up with names for the blonde doll, that it took her a while to take notice of the small sobs that were coming from behind the tree that was next to the one she was sitting under. 

 

Melissa slowly got up and silently crept towards the tree. She spots a blonde boy, around her age maybe, sitting with his back facing her. She heard him sniff and watched as he wiped a tear from his face. 

 

Being the curious soul that Melissa is, she didn’t have time to stop herself from blurting out, “Why are you crying?”   
  


The little boy instantly jumped up at the sound of an unfamiliar voice. The stranger turned around, and Melissa could tell that he had been crying for a while. His face was red and a bit puffy. “W-Why does it matter to you?” the blonde kid answers in a defensive tone. 

 

The young brunette was a bit surprised at his defensive tone, she was just trying to be nice. She crosses her arms, “Why does it matter to me? I’m sitting a tree away trying to come up with a name for my doll.” she tells him as she shows him the blonde doll, “And I couldn’t concentrate because of your crying.”

 

The blonde boy’s face softens, “I’m sorry.” he apologizes. He glances at her dolls, before looking back up at Melissa. “I just didn’t want him to see me crying.”

 

Melissa gave him a puzzled expression, “Who?” she questions. 

 

The little kid sighs and walks out from behind the tree. “My dad.” the kid quietly confesses. “He got mad at me.”

 

“Did you misbehave?” the little girl recalls the times that her parents had gotten mad at her, it was usually because she would leave her books and toys scattered all around the house.

 

The stranger shrugs, “He seems to act a lot more harsh towards me after he found out that I-” he stops mid sentence and shakes his head. “Do you think it’s weird for boys to wear dresses?” 

 

Melissa blinks, “Why would it be?” 

 

“My dad says that there’s something wrong with boys who like to dress up like girls. He says that they’re f-freaks.” she could hear as the stranger’s voice cracked a bit. Melissa was not stupid, it didn’t take her long to figure out that the blonde kid had been referring to himself when she was asked if she thought it was weird for boys to wear dresses.

 

“Do you like to wear dresses?”

 

“W-What?! No!” the blonde got a bit defensive, “I'm not a girl, why would I like to wear girl clothing?”

 

“Well, I'm a girl and I don't really like to wear dresses.” She replies with a shrug. “And if it's okay for girls to like or not like dresses, then I think it's okay for boys to like and not like dresses either.”

 

They both stay silent for a moment. Melissa figured that he wasn’t comfortable admitting that he liked to wear ‘girls clothing’, so she decided not to push it.  

 

“What’s your name?” she then asks.

 

“Charles.” the blonde boy responds. “But my mom and my Aunt Carol call me Charlie, so I guess I prefer being called that.”

 

“I’m Melissa, Melissa Hastings.” the young brunette extends her hand for to greet him. Charlie hesitantly accepts her hand. She then brings the blonde doll back up, “Do you want to help me come up with a name for my doll? I’ll let you play with them if you do.”

 

She was quite surprised with herself, the fact that she was willing to allow some stranger touch her precious dolls. Usually, she wouldn’t want any kid to even breathe in the same room that her dolls were, but she made an exception for Charlie. She wanted to help the blue-eyed boy feel better.

 

“What’s her name?” Charlie points at the dark-haired doll that Melissa was holding. 

 

“This is Spencer,” Melissa said as she brought her up too. “I named her after my baby sister because they both have dark brown eyes. But I can’t seem to find a name that fits this doll over here.”

 

“I have a baby sister too.” Charlie tells her. “She has blue eyes, just like your doll.”

 

“Really? What’s her name?” Melissa grew a bit excited. Maybe she’d finally be able to put a name to the blonde doll. 

 

“Alison.”

 

The brunette girl smiles, “I like it.” she tells him as she reaches out to grab his hand. “Do you want to play with me and my dolls?”

 

Charlie hesitates. The blue-eyed kid looks around, as if trying to make sure that no one was watching them.

 

“Come on,” Melissa insists. “You can be Alison and I’ll be Spencer.”

 

“If my dad sees me, he’ll-”

 

“We can hide behind this tree.” the girl suggests. “Besides, it’s not like playing with dolls is such a bad thing. My daddy sometimes plays with me and my dolls too, and he’s a boy!”

 

“It’s just, my dad says I’m really not supposed to-”

 

“You’re not doing anything wrong Charlie.” Melissa interrupts him. “If he tells you something, then I’ll tell him something too.”

 

Eventually, the oldest Hastings daughter was able to convince the blonde, and they both played with her dolls. It felt nice. To finally have a friend that wasn’t annoying the crap out of her every second.

 

She hadn’t noticed it before because the boy’s face was all puffy, but Charlie’s eyes sparkle when he smiles. It made Melissa wonder how often her new friend would smile back at home, or was he constantly crying because his dad wouldn’t let him do what made him happy?

 

**___________________________________________**

 

 

“That was fun!” Melissa said around an hour later, she knew that it would be time for her to go soon. “I'm glad you decided to play with the dolls with me.”   
  
“Yeah, me too. It's actually much better than playing in dirty mud like my brother.”

 

“You know I was having a bad day today,” Melissa admits as she dusts her jeans off. “But thanks to you, I was able to forget all about it.”

 

Charlie gave her a shy smile, “Thank you for allowing me to feel normal.” the blonde kid replies. “Do you come here often? I do almost every weekend.”

 

Melissa shakes her head, “I don’t.” she says. “But if you’re going to be here, then maybe I should start coming more often.” she gives him a sweet smile. 

 

In the distance she could hear her parents calling her name, it was time for her to go home. “Well, I have to get going.”   
  
Charlie nods, “I should probably get going too” 

 

“Wait.” she calls out before her blonde friend can turn away. “Here, you can hold onto Alison for now. That way, I can feel confident that I’ll see you again. You can hide it under your basket of apples, if you don’t want your dad to see it-”

 

Charlie cuts her off by pulling her into a tight hug, “Thank you, Melissa Hastings.” And with that, he pulls away and turns around to walk away.

 

**___________________________________________**

 

After that day, Melissa got to see Charlie a few more times. Each time that her friend would try to return the blonde doll to her, she continued to insist for him to keep it, that way he’d have a reason to show up to see her again.

 

Today was another day that she would be seeing her new friend at the Campbell Apple Farm, truth be told, she had been growing very fond of her blonde friend. Being able to see Charlie, became the highlight of her week. 

 

She had never met someone so charming, someone who made her happy just by looking at him. 

 

_ Is this what they call love?  _

 

Melissa wondered as she waited under the same tree for Charlie to show up. Her parents were more than thrilled that their daughter had finally made a friend that she she genuinely enjoyed spending time with, so it was no bother for them to bring Melissa to the farm every weekend.

 

“M-Melissa.” A familiar voice pulls her out of her train of thought.

 

“Charlie-” Melissa’s smile suddenly drops when she sees that her friend had been crying. “What’s wrong?”

 

“I have to go.” the blonde bluntly says. “I’m not even supposed to be here right now, but I begged my mom to bring me here. At least to say goodbye, and to return you your doll.”

 

“Go? Go where?” 

 

“I did something really bad.” Charlie tells her. “My mom and dad are sending me somewhere. I-I can’t stay for much longer.

 

“Charlie, wait!” Melissa grabs his hand. She can feel the tears already threatening to escape from her eyes. “You can’t just go, you’re my friend.”

 

The blonde boy pulls Melissa into a tight hug and plants a kiss on her cheek, “Thank you. For everything.” Charlie whispers and Melissa finally lets the tears fall. Who would’ve thought that losing someone that she cared about, would hurt so much. “I’ll never forget you, Melissa Hastings.”

 

After that he pulled away and grabs her hand, he gives her back the blonde doll. All Melissa could do was shake her head and sob, “Don’t go.” she begs. 

 

“Charlie, sweetheart!” A woman calls out from behind him. The blonde gives Melissa one last look before running off toward his mother. 

 

The six year old girl just stood there and stared at the blonde doll that Charlie had returned to her. She couldn’t believe that she had already lost her first genuine friend. Her heart ached because of this. 

 

“Love is stupid.” she mutters through her sobs and angrily throws the blonde doll to the ground.   


	2. Love is Patient

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Melissa encounters a familiar face with a different name.

Life was stressful for Melissa Hastings, so much was expected from her already and she was only fourteen at the moment. And it didn’t help that her younger sister, Spencer Hastings, had already started seeing her as a competitor.

The almost eight year old, Spencer Hastings, really admired her older sister. Which is why she was already thriving to be as good or even better than her. At first, Melissa thought it was cute, her little sister’s overachieving attitude, but recently it has gotten a bit out of control.

It seems like recently Spencer has decided to spend her time bugging her older sister, especially when she was really busy. There were so many books and so much class work that Spencer wanted to read and show to her older sister, but Melissa just didn’t have enough time for everything. She too, had books and homework to complete. It was stressing her out, and Spencer really wasn’t helping her by constantly bugging her. She didn’t like the fact that she was ignoring her little sister, but she really didn’t have much time to complete her homework due to all the other activities that she’s involved in.

On that day specifically, Melissa and her whole class were assigned to come up with research report for their history class. It was due in three days, and Melissa had no time to lose. It was said that the person who had the best report, would get three bonus points on their final grade.

Of course, Melissa Hastings really didn’t need those bonus points, history was her best subject, her grade at the moment was nearly a perfect score. But nearly perfect isn’t enough, not for a Hastings at least.

So, as soon as classes were over, the fourteen year old found herself making her way to their town’s library. She was determined to be the student who would get the three bonus points, so decided to stop by to collect some books to help her with her assignment. 

If only the library wouldn’t be closing in an hour, then could’ve worked on her report there, instead of having to go home, where she was certain that Spencer would start bugging her, and not let her completely concentrate on her work. It’s not that she didn’t love her sister, she really did, but sometimes the seven year old could be really annoying. 

The fourteen year old brunette, roamed the many aisles of the library, grabbing as many books that she thought she would need. From the corner of her eye, she couldn’t help but notice that someone was looking at her, from the end of aisle. 

Melissa slowly turns her head and sees a blonde little girl in a yellow top staring at her. The little girl couldn’t have been more than nine years old, maybe ten, yet she couldn’t help be feel intimidated by her.

The brunette didn’t know if whether she should acknowledge the blonde’s presence or not. At that moment, it literally felt as if she were in the middle of a horror film. As ridiculous as it sounds, the brunette was already envisioning a demon sprouting out from the little girl’s body, and attacking her. The thought made her shiver despite the fact that she knew the chances of that happening were unrealistic. 

The blonde girl then takes a few steps forward, and Melissa was debating if whether or not she should make a run for it. She would be lying if she said that she wasn’t expecting for the girl to jump her any moment now.

The fourteen year old turns her head slightly away, not wanting to draw the blonde girl’s attention towards herself. She does however, continue to keep an eye on the eerie girl, from the corner of her eye.

She subtly watches as the blonde comes to a halt and turns to face one of the book shelves. Now that the girl’s attention wasn’t on her, Melissa turns around slightly and watches her.

The creepy girl runs her hands slowly through the books, as if trying to really capture their full texture. She then looks up a bit and tries to reach for a book, but the girl was much too short and failed to do so.

Melissa wonders if she should help the girl grab whatever book she was reaching for, but quickly decided against it once the blonde girl turns to look at her again. The brunette quickly reverts her attention back to the bookshelf in front of her.

The little girl stares at her for at least a few more seconds, before turning around and walking away. Melissa lets out a sigh in relief, something about that girl really made her skin crawl.

Out of curiousity, Melissa walks towards the same spot that the blonde girl had been previously standing in, and looks for the book that the little girl had been possibly searching for. There seemed to be only art and literature books in this section. 

She reaches out and grabs a specific book, it was a book about the history of art. It was odd, why would a nine year old girl be interested in such an outdated book?

“Seems like you beat me to it.” Melissa jumps in surprise at the sound of an unfamiliar voice, seems like she’s still a bit freaked out after her encounter with the little blonde girl. She turns around and sees a blonde boy, standing behind her. He looked to be around the same age as her.

“I was just looking.” Melissa replies as she hands the book to him. “You can take it if you want, but be sure to hide it, it seems like there was a little girl here who had her eyes set on this book as well.”

The boy laughs as Melissa just awkwardly stands there with her hand extended. It was weird, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of familiarity as she watched the boy laugh. The way his eyes sparkled, it almost reminded her of-

“So you were the girl who didn’t help my friend reach for the book she wanted?” he asks. “She said that you were very rude, that you watched her struggle and didn’t help her.”

“What?” Melissa thinks back to the little blonde girl that she had encountered earlier, she suddenly realizes that the girl might have actually been an average nine year old and not some demon, like she had imagined earlier.

“Oh. I didn’t know.” Melissa says. “Sorry.”

The boy gives her a smile, “Why are you apologizing?” he questions her. “You didn’t do anything to me, right?”

Melissa doesn’t understand why the boy’s smile reminds her so much of a childhood friend of hers, Charlie. Could it be him? What are the odds that it is him? 

“What’s your name?” she blurts out. 

The boy is taken by surprise by her question, “My name?” his eyes glance off towards the side. Almost as if he was trying to remember. “Freddy. My name is Freddy. What’s yours?”

She has to admit, her heart dropped a bit once he revealed that his name was Freddy. She had kind of hoped that it was her childhood friend, Charlie. How cool would it have been if she were to meet him again by chance? 

“I’m Melissa. Melissa Hastings.” she introduces herself. She’s not sure why she always gives total strangers her full name, but she’s been doing it since she was little, so why break the habit now?

She watches as Freddy’s eyes widened a bit, “Melissa Hastings.” he repeats her name quietly. His smile grows, “Makes sense, a pretty name for a pretty girl, right?”

Melissa coughs, that was such a random thing to say. She had been told that she was pretty before, but she had never been told so bluntly before. She didn’t know what to say to that. It was a compliment, right? So she should say thank you maybe.

“That’s a strange combination of books that you got there.” the blonde then says, once he realized that Melissa wasn’t going to respond to what he had previously said.

“Yeah,” she gives him a small smile. It was weird, she was suddenly feeling a bit shy. “I have a report due in a few days and I’m trying to get the highest grade out of my whole class.”

“You seem like an overachiever.” Freddy points out. “But do you really need that many books? It’s just a middle school assignment.”

The brunette shrugs, “What can I say, I want to be the best at everything.” she replies. “It’s a Hastings thing.”

“I like your determination.” Freddy compliments.

“Thank you.” Melissa responds in a sweet tone. “What about you?”

“What about me?”

“What’s with your choice of books?” she gestures to one of the books he was holding. “What’s with the french books? Learning a new language?”

“Yeah, I really don’t have much to do and I hardly ever go out, so I have so much time to kill.” the blonde tells her. “Might as well use that time to expand my knowledge.”

“I like you.” she says. “I appreciate kids our age who are interested in learning.” she then looks at the other two books that he held. “Hamlet? Romeo and Juliet? You seem like you’re a Shakespeare fan?”

“Eh, not really.” Freddy confesses. “I just really like tragic stories. It helps me not focus too much on mine.”

“That sounds dark.” she laughs a bit. “It’s as if you’re implying that find pleasure in other people’s tragic lives, because of your tragedies.”

“We all experience some sort of tragedies during our lifetime. It just feels nice to know that I’m not the only one with a tragic story.”

Melissa nods, “I guess you could say the one of the tragedies in my life, is my family’s competitiveness.” she admits as she looks down, feeling a bit ashamed of the next words that were about to leave her mouth. “And my sister too.”

“What? You don’t love your family or-”

“No, it’s not that.” she cuts him off. “It’s just sometimes I feel like too much is expected from me, and lately my little sister has been getting really annoying too. She loves to bother me a lot, especially when I don’t have time for her.”

She hadn’t realized that she would feel extremely terrible after saying those words out loud, she knows that her sister meant no harm, but she couldn’t help but feel that way.

“She’s your sister, don’t you love her?” Freddy asks, a sad tone can be heard in his voice. 

“I do. I love her a lot.” Melissa defends herself. “But like I said, sometimes she can get on my nerves.”

“Love is patient, Melissa.” the blonde locks eyes with her. She really couldn’t help but compare the boy to Charlie. Everything about him reminded her about her childhood friend. It’s stupid to say honestly, but even his eyes remind her about him. 

“What if my patience isn’t strong enough?”

“When you love someone, you’re willing to tolerate anything that may be wrong with them.” Freddy says, he breaks eye contact with Melissa and stares off to the side. “You know, sometimes I wonder if he had been more patient with me, then maybe things would be differently.”

“What do you mean?”

“That’s part of the tragedy that I was talking about. It’s complicated.”

“Do you have anyone who loves you in that way?” Melissa couldn’t help but ask. “Who’s patient with you?”

Freddy shrugs, “I like to think that my mom does, but-” he stops and shakes his head. “But I’m not sure.”

At that moment, Melissa had completely forgotten about her assignment. All she wanted to do was continue to talk to him, she wanted hear more of what he had to say.

He smiles, “Be a good big sister Melissa,” Freddy tells her. “Lord knows I’d do anything to be one to my brother and sister.”

Before Melissa could even ask him anything, the eerie looking blonde girl appears. She glares at Melissa for a bit before turning her attention towards Freddy. “Aunt Jessi says that it’s time to go back, Charles.”

Melissa feels her mouth drop a bit, she turns around to face the blonde boy, “Charles?” she questions. Why did he lie about his name, could it really be-

“Tell her I’m just going to grab your book, Bethany.” he says. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

The blonde girl, Bethany, nods. She eyes Melissa again, before walking away.

The blonde boy then turns around to face the brunette. He grabs the art book from her hand, “I have to go.” 

“She called you Charles.” Melissa ignores what he had previously said. “Who are you?”

“Good luck on your assignment, I’m sure you’ll do well Melissa Hastings.” Freddy or Charles, gives her a smile. She sees that sparkle in his eyes again. There’s a reason why this stranger had seemed so familiar to her.

“Charlie.” she whispers, as she grabs his hand to prevent him from walking away. She feels a mixture of joy and sadness when she realized it was him. “It really is you.”

“You remember me?”

Melissa drops her books and captures her former friend in a tight embrace. “Where did you go?”

“The same place that I’m going to now.” he gently removes himself from her embrace. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t go.” she pleads. “You can’t just leave again.”

“I have to go.”

Melissa’s eyes begin to water, it’s as if all of the sadness that she had felt when Charlie first left her, had returned. “Can I at least know where you’re going? Or why you left all of a sudden?”

“Charles.” the blonde girl returned. She walks up to them and grabs the blonde’s wrist, pulling him out of Melissa’s grasp. This time the blonde girl doesn’t even acknowledge the brunette. “Aunt Jessi says it’s time to go. We’ll be in trouble if we’re not back in time.”

Charles gives one last look at Melissa, before he allows for Bethany to drag him away.

The fourteen year old girl just stands there for a moment. Did that really just happen? Had she really just met Charlie again, after seven years? Why was she still standing there, and not chasing after him? Had she really let him go, again?

A tear escaped from her eye when she recalls their entire conversation. It seems like Charlie’s life hasn’t gotten any better than when they were both six. 

How long did her friend have to wait until he had the happiness that he deserved? How patient did Charlie have to be, before this tragedy goes away? 

Melissa walks towards the front window, there she sees Charlie with that girl Bethany. They were both walking side by side, following a woman towards her vehicle. She felt her heart ache as she watched him walk away.

“Where are you going Charlie?” she whispers, loud enough for only herself to hear. How long will it be before she ever sees her friend again? 

How patient must Melissa be?


	3. Love is Comfort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Melissa finds comfort in an unusual place.

As the years went by, Melissa Hastings noticed how much her life changed by the time she has a senior in high school.

 

She learned how to drive. She was arguably the smartest student in all of Rosewood High, and soon to be Valedictorian of her class. Instead of receiving letters from the principal, she was now receiving letters from colleges and universities that wanted her at their school. 

 

She went on her first date, had her first kiss, and her first boyfriend: Ian Thomas. Surprisingly, the blue-eyed brunette who had managed to steal her heart.

 

It was a surprise because he's so not her type. A party boy jock? The only person that Melissa Hastings could think of that was way worse, was Eric Kahn. That boy was definitely a mess. 

 

Anyways, back to Ian Thomas. 

 

The soon to be eighteen year old girl, truly was shocked when she found herself agreeing to going out with Ian. It's not like he wasn't attractive, he just wasn't her type. At all.

 

After looking into his eyes though, she couldn't help but reluctantly agree. They reminded her of someone else's. An old friend one could say.

 

No, they weren't exactly the same, but they were similar enough for them to bring comfort to the brunette.

 

The teenager had too many things to worry about, so It wasn't everyday that Melissa thought about her childhood friend, as a matter of fact, she had grown to accept that she might never see him again. 

 

Maybe it was better this way, because whenever she  _ did  _ think about him, peace and comfort would come from those memories. That's what those memories were to her, a safe place for whenever she needed an escape from all the pressure she was under.

 

Those memories never failed to bring a smile to her face, even during her most stressful moments. 

 

Wait what was she talking about?

 

Oh right: Ian.

 

It's not like she was  _ in  _ love with the boy, but she did care for him. He's her first boyfriend, it wouldn't make sense if she didn't.

 

They've been dating for several months now, and not to brag or anything, but chances were that they were the school’s most popular couple, so they were bound to be crowned King and Queen at their Senior Prom tomorrow.

 

Melissa usually didn't really care too much about the crown, but she had to admit, she was excited to win the crown and share a dance with Ian. 

 

There was only one problem though: Ian had yet to ask her out!!! 

 

The dance was tomorrow night and her boyfriend still hadn't asked her to be his date to their senior prom. To say that she was freaking out would be an understatement.

 

Now, Melissa wasn't the type of girl to wait around desperately for anyone, especially not for a boy.

 

But she had decided to make an exception in this case, as she currently sat in her room staring at her flip phone, waiting for her boyfriend to call her.

 

_ Call me. Call me. Call me. I swear if you don't call me right now, you're dead to me from now on. _

 

It's almost as if the young girl had some sort of telekinetic powers, because just a few minutes later, her phone went off.

 

It was him. She smiles in triumphant as she answers his call, “Hello?”

 

“Hey babe,” she hears him say. “So I'm swinging by your place around 7 tomorrow, sound good?”

 

“For what?” Melissa plays dumb. 

 

“For prom, what else?”

 

“Oh, so we  _ are  _ going together.” She questions, her voice sounding a bit bitter over the fact that he didn't properly ask her out.

 

“Well duh, we are dating after all.” He tells her as he lets out a laugh. “Anyways, I've got a surprise to show you tomorrow, so be anticipating it!”

 

“A surprise?” Melissa felt her lips forming a smile, maybe she wasn't as bitter still. “What is it?”

 

“It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you babe.” He says over the phone. “So 7’s a good time right?”

 

Melissa frowns a bit, she had never really been a patient person. Hopefully she won't go crazy over trying to guess what the surprise was. 

 

“Yeah, see you tomorrow.”

 

No it wasn't the way she imagined getting asked out for her senior prom, but after hearing that he had a surprise planned, she decided to let him off the hook.

 

She placed her phone down, and turned her attention towards her dress that she would be wearing tomorrow night. A black, elegant own, with a matching black mask. What better outfit for the young Hastings to wear!

 

If her predictions were correct, Ian would wear his father’s black tuxedo, the one he wore to their homecoming dance where she was crowned queen. If he just so happens to do so, then they will be matching tomorrow. She liked the idea of that.

 

“Melissa.” She hears her preteen sister call out from outside her door. 

 

The eldest Hastings turns as Spencer opens the door, “What is it Spence?” 

 

“Some nice blonde lady dropped this box off for you.” Her younger sister extends her hands that were holding the box, towards her. “She said that it was anonymously sent to you.”

 

Melissa quirks an eyebrow in suspicion, could this have been the surprise that Ian was talking about?

 

“Hm, I wonder what it could be.” She questions out loud as she grabs the box from her younger sister, and heads towards her desk. Spencer walks up to her side as Melissa cuts through the tape on the box.

 

“Wow, it's beautiful Melissa!” Spencer exclaims as her older sister pulled out a corsage made out of red roses.

 

“It is.” Melissa responds as she admired the gift. It's a perfect match to her dress! It had to have been Ian who sent this to her, who else would know what she would be wearing to Prom aside from a few of her friends?

 

“Who do you think sent this to you?”

 

A smile forms on the older brunettes face as she held the corsage up, “Who knows.” She replies with a shrug. “But it must be from someone who knows me well.” 

 

**___________________**

 

“Honey, Ian’s here!” Melissa heard her mother call from down stairs.

 

“Coming!” Melissa announces as she admires herself in her mirror. 

 

“Wow, you look so beautiful sis!” Spencer compliments her. “Ian is such a lucky guy.”

 

Melissa turned to look at her little sister tenderly, sure they had their moments in which they wanted nothing more than to pull each other's hair out, but overall they were pretty close. Guess they hadn't let their parents competitiveness get the best of them just yet.

 

“Thanks Spence.” She gives her younger sister a warmer smile as they both head down stairs, where Melissa is a bit disappointed to find that Ian happened to be wearing a light red tuxedo, instead of his black one.

 

Now they won't match.

 

“There's my little girl!” Peter smiles once he catches sight of Melissa. His comment causes the oldest Hastings daughter to playfully roll her eyes.

 

“Oh Peter, she's almost an adult now!” Veronica says as she holds up her camera. “Come on sweetheart, let's take pictures!”

 

**___________________**

 

**“** Hey, you look great by the way.” Ian compliments his girlfriend, causing the brunette to blush lightly. They were about to arrive at Rosewood High. “Nice corsage by the way.”

 

“Thank you.” Melissa replies as a small smiles formed on her face, “And you should know, you're the one who picked them out. That was so sweet, thank you for it!”

 

Ian gave her a puzzled look and Melissa was no idiot. As soon as she saw the expression on his face, she knew that he had no idea what she was talking about. 

 

_ So much for that _ .

 

“You didn't buy this for me, did you?” She asks in disbelief.

 

“What? Of course I did babe!” He quickly defends himself. “Who else would have bought this for you.”

 

She let out a quiet scoff, she couldn't believe that he was lying straight to her face. This was not how she wanted to start off their night. She didn't say anything else, she didn't want to start an argument on the night that was supposed to be the greatest night of her high school experience.

 

The sound of the blasting music grew as Ian entered the parking lot, eventually he found a close place to park and pulled over.

 

“Hey don't forget your mask babe.” He reminds her as he puts on his mask that was made up of the colors red, black, and white. It covered half his face, just like hers.

 

They both exited the vehicle, and she reached out to grab his hand. They definitely were a lot bigger than hers, not so much a perfect match.

 

“This is going to be such a fun night!” Ian exclaims in joy as he and Melissa walked towards the entrance. “Just wait until you see the surprise I have!”

 

The brunette girl had to admit, despite being disappointed with the fact that it wasn't Ian who had gifted her the corsage, she was still pretty excited to see what surprise her boyfriend had in store for her.

 

Maybe this wasn't going to be such a bad night after all..

 

**___________________**

 

 **“** That's it?” The girl was once again left in disbelief as she saw what the so called surprise her boyfriend had in store for her, or should she say for _him._

 

“Isn't it cool?!” He chirps in excitement. “It's the latest edition of this new camera I wanted!”

 

She couldn't even force herself to smile for her boyfriend, “That's nice and all, but I thought you said you had a surprise for me?”

 

She watches as her boyfriend’s eyes widen slightly, he really didn't have anything planned for her did her? “Oh of course I did babe.” He quickly defends himself. “This camera was the surprise! See, now we can save our memories in here. Isn't that sweet?”

 

Melissa smiles lightly, maybe he's right, maybe she was being too selfish and not looking into how much value that camera could be to the both of them. “I guess when you put it that way, it is rather sweet.”

 

Ian smiles, “I'm glad you see things my way.” He tells her as he pulls her towards his group of friends. 

 

“Melissa, how's our future prom queen doing?” Jennie, from her literature class, greets her with her usual preppy voice. Her arms were wrapped around the school’s party boy, Eric Kahn.

 

“Hey Jennie, your dress looks amazing by the way!”

 

“Thank you, I love how well your entire outfit matches. Fits the theme perfectly!”

 

“Woah, no greeting for your prom king?” Ian interjects their conversation with a playful tone as he greeted Eric with a handshake.

 

“No offense Ian, but we all know that crown is going to Eric.” Jennie replies as she gawked at the man in her arms. No, those two weren't dating, but it was obvious that the blonde girl enjoys showing off her date. 

 

“What can I say? I'm quite the catch!” Eric definitely was satisfied by the ego boost that Jennie was giving him.

 

Melissa tried to refrain herself from rolling her eyes. Seriously everything about that boy annoyed her, but she continued to laugh along at all the nonsense that came out of his mouth, he was Ian's friend after all.

 

To the brunette’s misfortune though, Jason Dilaurentis and Garrett Reynolds decided to make their way to them, meaning that her boyfriend's attention wouldn't be on her at all.

 

All she wanted to do was dance to at least to one song with Ian, was that too much to ask for?

 

Eventually, it seemed as if Jennie noticed her friend's annoyance. “Hey, why don't we go dance for a bit?” She asks as she slightly turns to look at Garrett and Jason. “Well at least the  _ we  _ who actually have dates.”

 

“Don't speak too soon, I actually  _ do  _ have a date.” The blonde boy defends himself. 

 

“Oh, he's talking about that girl that he met a while back.” Ian says as he let out a laugh, “What’s wrong bro, still stuck being ‘just friends’?”

 

Jason DiLaurentis rolls his eyes, “Hey, she still came as my date.” he protests. “Something is something!” 

 

“Oh yeah, then where is she right now?” Jennie asks as she raises her eyebrows up in suspicion. 

 

Jason shrugs, “Guess I’d better go find her and hope she’s in a good mood.” And with that he walked off in search of his prom date.

 

“Come on,” Melissa then pulled her boyfriend’s arm. “You promised me one song.” She tried to not make her annoyance too obvious, she didn’t want to cause an argument. 

 

“Alright let’s go, in the meantime Garrett could find himself a date.” he responds as he was being pulled away by the brunette.

 

**___________________**

 

Dancing with Ian wasn’t as great as she had expected. It was more like dancing with a mannequin, he was there, but he wasn’t as into it as she had hoped. All the boy kept talking about was how excited he was to use his brand new camera.

 

Melissa had to admit that she was grateful that they were interrupted by the boy’s gym coach, Coach Lawson, who had stopped the music to announce something. She didn’t want to say something stupid that would piss off Ian and ruin the night for her. 

 

After talking into the microphone for a while, Mr. Lawson started saying something that instantly had everyone’s attention. It was finally time to announce who the Prom King and Queen were.

 

“It’s finally that time folks, who will be our Prom King and Queen? Well you all have made your votes and in my hand I hold the results!” Melissa felt herself grow anxious as the students cheered. 

 

Did she want to be Prom Queen? Well truthfully, no. But if being Prom Queen meant that she would have at least something good to remember about this night so far, then maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea after all. 

 

“Would you look at that!” Coach Lawson exclaims as a smile spread through his face, “Surprise, surprise, our Prom King and Queen are none other than Mr. Eric Kahn and Ms. Cece Drake!” Cheers exploded from the room as Eric Kahn and a blonde girl walked up to the stage, their arms intertwined with the other.

 

Cece Drake? The name didn’t sound familiar to Melissa. Who was she? Was she just some girl that she never paid much attention to in the hallways? There was no way for her to tell, given that the blonde girl’s face was covered in a white mask.

 

“God, can’t believe that crazy fool actually did it!” Ian bursts out laughing as he clapped his hands for the winners. “Have to admit, he’s earned my unconditional respect!”

 

The brunette girl gives him a puzzled expression, not that he could see it anyways. “What?” 

 

“Eric babe,” he says as he wraps an arm around her. “That’s the girl that Jason’s been trying to get laid by by the way, Cece Drake, she-”

 

“Wait, so you’re saying that she doesn’t even go here? Then how the hell did she win Prom Queen?!”

 

“That’s what I was getting to, let me finish babe,” the boy continues to speak as the two winners were still receiving praises and handshakes. “For some reason, she really wanted to win the crown, so Eric suggested that he’d rig the votes and all! But I’m pretty sure he got something out of this too, I don’t see any reason why he would do that for her unless- _you_ _know_.”

 

“Unbelievable.” Melissa mutters as she looked back up at girl in the white gown. This night isn’t going as well as she had imagined. How much worse could it possibly get?

 

**___________________**

 

Guess she shouldn’t have jinxed herself, because it didn’t take her boyfriend long for him to run off with Jason and Garrett to play with that stupid camera. So there she sat, alone in one of the many round tables, as she bitterly watched all the couples act so lovingly towards one another.

 

One good night, was that too much to ask for? After all the stress that she’s been under with graduation, college, and her future basically, all she really wanted was one night to relax and have a good time. But that really wasn’t working out for her. 

 

She would leave if Ian wasn’t her ride back home, and she really didn’t feel comfortable taking a bus back home during the night. 

 

Therefore, she conformed herself with just sitting there and counting how many times the lights would flash all over the dance floor. She was almost up to four hundred sixty-five when a conversation nearby had caught her attention. 

 

“I’m sorry, I don’t really have time right now. I have to find my date.” Normally when she’s feeling annoyed, she tends to block out anyone nearby. But she was so bored out of her mind that she quickly turned around to face the two people having the conversation.

 

It was her, that blonde girl that stole-  _ won  _ the crown. What was her name again? Cece something. Melissa looked over to the crown placed on the blonde’s head. 

 

Did the girl really want that crown for some specific reason or was she just being selfish? Did no one vote for her during her prom? Or did she just love being the center of attention?

 

“I really can’t dance with you right now, I don’t think my date would be too happy if I did.” the blonde girl says. It was obvious that she was trying to look for an excuse not to dance with that guy.

 

“Come on, he doesn’t  _ have  _ to know.” the boy kept insisting. “We could go somewhere else you know. Somewhere a bit more  _ private.” _

 

The girl was evidently faking a laugh. Could this guy not get a clue? It was a bit irritating to hear. She really hated when boys couldn’t take no for an answer.

 

“No really, we shouldn’t-”

 

“Come on, I promise you won’t regret it.” Melissa watched as he got all up in the girl’s personal space. The blonde was clearly uncomfortable at this point.

 

“Wilden, Stop!” the girl snaps in frustration. “You’re supposed to be here to monitor the students, not hook up with them!”

 

“Well good thing you’re not really a student at all then, huh?” Even Melissa got shivers as she observed how the man ran his hand up the girl’s arm. “I think you should obey me before I tell your mom what you’ve been up to.”

 

Melissa had heard enough, was this grown man literally hitting on a high school student? “Hey!” she calls him out. They both turned their heads to face her as she made her way towards them. She grabs the blonde girl’s left wrist and pulls her away from the man. “She said no, so move along.”

 

The man who she had called Wilden, snorts. “Why don’t you mind your own business little girl?” he also grabs the blonde’s other wrist and pulls her harshly towards him.

 

The brunette glances down at Wilden’s suit and quickly notices that he’s wearing a police badge. “You clearly don’t know who I am.” she laughs. “Why don’t I call my parents, who both have a history in putting people in jail, and tell them that a grown man, who just so happens to be a police officer, is hitting on a high school student? I don’t think my parents would like that at all,  _ Wilden.” _

 

The man scoffs as he releases his grip around the girl’s wrist. “You’re that bratty Hastings kid that everyone seems to complain about, huh?” 

 

“I guess we’re both guilty of each other’s allegations here.” Melissa replies with a smirk. She knows she’s won this battle.

 

Wilden lets out a humorless laugh as he turns to look at the blonde girl. “Your little friend’s parents can’t protect you forever. Not when they find out what you truly are.”

 

The brunette felt as the blonde shuddered into her hand. “I think we’re done here.” she dismisses him as she pulled the blonde girl to the table where she had previously been sitting at.

 

“Sit.” she tells her. The girl obeys within an instant. 

 

“Thank you.” she says as she let out a sigh in relief. “I don’t know what I would’ve done to get away from him if you hadn’t intervened.”

 

“You really shouldn’t let anyone treat you like that.” Melissa tells her as she sits right across from her. “You should learn how to stand up for yourself.”

 

The girl in the white dress nods, “Normally I wouldn’t let anyone talk to me like that, but Wilden’s just- different.”

 

“Different?”

 

“He knows things about me, about my family.” she tried to explain. “Getting on his bad side really isn’t an option for me.”

 

Melissa suddenly realizes that she might’ve made a possible mistake, “Oh crap, don’t tell me that I just made things worse for you?” This night was already terrible enough for herself, she didn’t want to ruin somebody else’s as well.

 

“Not at all!” the blonde quickly denies Melissa’s assumptions. “You basically saved me back there- uhm, I didn’t quite catch your name back there.”

 

“Melissa.”

 

A smile slowly appeared on the blonde girl’s face. “Melissa Hastings?” she questions to which the brunette responds with a nod. “Wow, I was rescued by  _ the  _ Melissa Hastings. What an honor. I’m Cece by the way, Cece Drake.”

 

“You know who I am?”

 

“Everyone knows who you are. You’re literally worshipped in this school!”

 

“I’m surprised you’d know that given the fact that you don’t actually go to this school.” Melissa states as she removes her mask, hoping it would motivate the blonde girl to do so as well. She wanted to see how she looked like. “Is that one of the things Wilden knows about you? That you cheated to get that crown?”

 

Melissa didn’t expect to see the smile on the girl’s face grow. “Seems like you’re a smart girl.” she tells her. “A pretty one too. You really are the total package.”

 

“Are you going to deny that you messed with the votes?”

 

“Of course I am.” Cece replies as she brings her right hand, to rest her head on. “I wasn’t the one who technically messed with the ballots.”

 

Melissa looks down at the girl’s right hand, and sees that she is wearing an identical corsage to the one she was wearing. “Who gave you that?” 

 

Cece Drake seemed to be confused for a minute, before realizing that the brunette was referring to her corsage. “Oh this? I bought it for myself.” she responds. “I know what you’re thinking, I should’ve chosen one that matched by dress. But I bought it yesterday, so they were pretty much out of options, and this was the prettiest one they had left..” she then glances down at Melissa’s hand and sees her corsage. “Hey would you look at that, we both have great taste.”

 

“I didn’t buy this for myself-”

 

“Oh?”

 

“I think my boyfriend did.”

 

“You think?”

 

“I mean, who else could it have been?”

 

Cece nods, “You’re right. Who else could it have been?” she repeats. “Who’s your boyfriend again? Ian Thomas, right? Oh I feel so sorry for you, he’s an ass.” 

 

“Hey!” Melissa exclaims defensively. “He’s not an ass, he’s my boyfriend.” Truth be told, the brunette wasn’t sure what exactly bothered her, the fact that she called her boyfriend an ass or the fact that she was implying that she had horrible taste in men. 

 

Cece’s laugh blended in with the music that was currently playing, “It seems like he abandoned you here to go play with his friends, and you’re going to tell me he’s not an ass?”

 

Melissa crossed her arms, she had to admit that the blonde girl’s words did sting, but she wasn’t going to show it. “You’re one to talk, didn’t you come with Jason DiLaurentis? Not only did he abandon you as well, but I haven’t even seen him with you all night.”

 

“Yeah, but Ian is  _ your boyfriend. _ Jason and I are just friends.”

 

“That doesn’t seem to be a mutual agreement between the two of you.” 

 

“I care about Jason a lot, but just as friends. Which is why I’m not really bothered that he isn’t here with me at the moment. Meanwhile, you actually are bothered by the fact that he isn’t giving you attention, aren’t you?”

 

“You know what, maybe you should stop talking.” Melissa tells her nonchalantly, as she leaned back to rest on her chair. She didn’t want to appear as if she was feeling insecure about her relationship with Ian. That’s not who Melissa Hastings is, she is far from insecure.

 

“Or we could just go dance?” Cece suggests. “This really isn’t the place for relationship conversations anyways.”

 

Melissa quirks an eyebrow, “Aren’t you scared of bumping into Wilden?”

 

“We could always go outside.”

 

“Why would I want to do that?”

 

The blonde girl shrugs as she stands up, “Okay, I won’t force you.” she says as she pulls a flask from her purse, to show her. “But I definitely could use a break from all of this negative energy. See you around Hastings.”

 

Melissa didn’t even know why she tried to play hard to get, because as soon as the blonde girl had stepped away from her, she was already up and prepared to follow her. 

 

Hey, it beats sitting all alone while everyone else was having fun. She might as well try to enjoy whatever was left of the night.

 

She finds Cece Drake sitting on one of the benches in front of Rosewood High. Melissa watches as the blonde girl took a big gulp from her flask. She seemed desperate, did the whole thing with Wilden really affect her that much?

 

That lead Melissa to wonder what the malicious cop could be holding against Cece? Could she be a criminal? Maybe a drug dealer? Or is he just someone that she hooked up with? 

 

The brunette slowly approaches her and takes a seat on the same bench. “Couldn’t get enough of me?” Cece questions without turning to look at her.

 

“You’re right. Ian is an ass.” Melissa breathes out, refusing to face the blonde girl.

 

“Then why not dump him?”

 

“I can’t do that.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“I love him.”

 

This causes Cece to instantly turn her head towards the brunette. “You’re serious?” she asks in disbelief.

 

“What?” 

 

“You’re capable of loving someone who has hurt you.” Cece says, sounding very amazed. Melissa couldn’t tell if she was being sarcastic or not. “I have to say, that’s something to admire.”

 

“Are you mocking me?” 

 

The blonde girl shakes her head, “No. I’m praising you.” Melissa really wishes she could be able to look into the girl’s eyes in order to see if she was being sincere or not. “Not many people are capable of loving unconditionally. I respect that.”

 

Cece turns her attention to the sky. She doesn’t say anything else and neither does Melissa. Instead, the brunette just keeps her eyes on Cece Drake. Why is she hard to read? This doesn’t happen often, Melissa was usually really good at figuring people out, but this girl seemed to be a whole other story. Maybe it was the mask?

 

“I know I’m beautiful, you don’t have to stare.” Cece’s soft voice interrupts her thoughts. 

 

Beautiful? Melissa can’t say yet. She hardly knows the girl, and hardly really knows how she looks like.

 

“Tell me a secret.” Melissa blurts out. 

 

Cece removes her eyes from the stars and focuses on the girl in the black dress. It was hard to tell, but it appeared as if she was taken aback by her sudden question. “A secret?”

 

“I’m bored.” Melissa replies simply. “Entertain me.”

 

The blonde doesn’t say anything for a while and looks down. In the background, the two girls could hear  _ Unwritten  _ by Natasha Bedingfield playing, along with a couple of cheers from the students. Seems like everyone was having a good time, while these two sat outside in the cold, enjoying each other’s company.

 

“I never went to high school.” Cece Drake breaks the silence between them. “Or any school at all.”

 

Melissa instantly becomes intrigued, “Were you home schooled or something?” she asks, unable to hide the curiosity in her tone.

 

“Something.”

 

“Is that why you had Eric Kahn rig the votes in your favor?” The brunette slowly starts to piece some of the pieces together. 

 

The blonde girl let out a bitter laugh, “This was supposed to be my prom.” she says, more to herself than to the brunette. “All of this was supposed to be mine.”

 

“I mean, you’re here aren’t you?” Melissa reminds her, she had to confess she was a bit surprised by the sudden change of atmosphere. “Doesn’t that make this your prom too?”

 

“This is  _ your _ prom, Melissa.” Cece instantly replies. “This is Jason’s prom, Eric’s, Garrett’s, Ian’s. Not mine. None of this is mine, not even this stupid dress.”

 

“But-”

 

“It just isn’t!”

 

Melissa Hastings immediately understood that it was something that the blonde girl didn’t want to go too deep into, so she didn’t want to ask anymore questions. But she couldn’t resist asking one more.

 

“Can I ask one for question then?”

 

“You just did.”

 

“Two more then?”

 

“What is it?”

 

“Can I take off your mask?”

 

The blonde girl hesitated for a brief moment, before nodding. Melissa smiled softly as she brought her hands up to the sides of her head, resting them right on top of the material that the mask was made out of.

 

She wondered if the girl really was as beautiful as she claimed to be. She wanted to know what had someone like Jason DiLaurentis, so obsessed with her.

 

Melissa carefully removed the mask from her face. She took in her features, okay she had to admit, the girl really was right. She is stunning. She could see why that creep Jason DiLaurentis, was so obsessed with the girl. 

 

However, it wasn’t until her eyes locked with the Cece’s for the first time, that she felt an incredible sense of familiarity. 

 

For a moment, she had completely forgotten about Ian and how he completely ditched her on prom night. 

 

For a moment, Melissa felt comfort.

 

**___________________**

 

When she arrived home, the oldest Hastings daughter was so over that night. All she wanted to do is crawl into bed and not wake up until the weekend was over. 

 

She didn’t expect to walk in and find her parents and Spencer still awake though.

 

“But dad, my graduation is at 4 and her’s is at 6, we can totally make it in time!” She heard her little sister plead from the living room.

 

“No buts Spencer!” Peter’s stern voice startled Melissa, why was her dad getting after Spencer in the middle of the night. “We are all going to your sister’s graduation, we can’t afford to be late to such an important event for her!”

 

“I can’t miss my own middle school graduation!” She heard Spencer protest. “We don’t have to stay until the end, just wait for me to accept my awards and then we can rush to Melissa’s graduation ceremony.”

 

“That’s the thing sweetie, we don’t want to be in a rush.” Veronica explains to her daughter. “We want to be there at least an hour before to show support to your sister.”

 

“But I’m the top student of the whole eighth grade, I can’t miss my award..”

 

“You won’t honey, you could just ask your principal to mail it to you or something.” Peter replies.

 

“But I want to be there when I get my award-”

 

“Honey, we’re really proud of you. We are. But we can’t miss your sister’s graduation and neither can’t you. Besides, we can’t let you go because then you’re going to be all by yourself. It’s better for us to be all together at your sister’s high school graduation. We’ll buy you something to make up for it later.”

 

The graduations, that’s right! Rosewood Junior High and Rosewood High both have their graduation ceremonies on the same day.

 

“Then let me go alone!” Melissa watches as Spencer gets on her knees, “Please this is something that’s really important to me.”

 

Veronica sighs, “Honey we can’t let you go by yourself. What will be the point anyways if we won’t be there to see you accept your award?”

 

“Please.” Spencer begs.

 

“You’re really willing to risk missing your sister’s graduation?”

 

“I’ll make it in time, I promise.”

 

“Spencer.”

 

“Please dad.”

 

**___________________**

 

Spencer Hastings had managed to convince her parents to allow her to go to her own graduation, they did however send her with their grandma. The plan was that Spencer would accept her award and then rush to Melissa’s graduation. 

 

They could pull it off. She knew she could. 

 

It felt weird to not have her parents here, truth be told she had hoped they would’ve make plans to attend both ceremonies. But that wasn’t the case. Spencer understood though, Melissa’s graduation was much more important than a middle school graduation. So she really can’t be mad at her parents for choosing to go to Melissa’s and not hers.

 

“Boo!” 

 

Spencer jumps in surprise. She turns and is greeted by a laughing blonde girl. It was Alison DiLaurentis, the most popular girl in the eighth grade. “Got’cha!” the girl exclaims as she took a seat next to her.

 

“We’re supposed to be on our assigned seats you know.” Spencer informs the girl. Yes, the two middle schooler’s have talked before due to the fact that they were neighbors, but she didn’t really consider Alison a friend since they never really hung out. The blonde girl tended to any hang around other popular kids like Noel Kahn and his friends.

 

“Relax, I’m just here to congratulate you on being the top student in our grade, you really kicked that loser, Mona off her throne!”

 

Spencer shifted uncomfortably, no she also wasn’t friends with Mona Vanderwaal, but she did talk to her from time to time, given that they were in the same advanced classes. “Oh, well thank you. But the ceremony is about to start so-”

 

“Your parents must be so proud, where are they by the way? My mom and dad want to say hi.”

 

“They’re not here.”

 

Alison scoffs, “Are they idiots or something? How can they not be here when you’re literally going to win the most awards of the day- oh.” Alison then comes to realization. “They ditched you for Melissa Hastings, didn’t they?”

 

“They didn’t ditch me, they just couldn’t make it to both ceremonies!” Spencer immediately comes to her parents defense.

 

“Why not?” the devious blonde girl questions, “My parents are here and they’ll be going to Jason’s graduation later too.”

 

“Well, Melissa’s about to be valedictorian of her class-”

 

“So are you!” Alison reminds her. “Do they really not appreciate you as much as they appreciate your sister?”

 

“That’s not true!”

 

“They don’t right? They’ve always preferred your sister over you, haven’t they?” Alison cuts her off. The young blonde didn’t mean to hurt the girl, she actually felt a bit guilty when she noticed that a tear had escaped from the brunette’s eye. She brings her hand up to her face and wipes that tear away, “Don’t worry Spencer, I appreciate you.”

 

Spencer’s eyes slightly widened. It wasn’t everyday that the  _ Queen of Mean _ comforted a total nobody. “You do?”

 

“Of course I do, you’re really smart. I respect that a lot.” She replies with a charming smile. “As a matter of fact, we should hang out over the summer. I could come over to your house and you could come over to mine.”

 

“Wait, really?” Spencer was completely lost at this point. Why would Alison DiLaurentis want to hang out with her.

 

“Sure, we’re neighbors. Might as well, right?” Alison says as she stands up, preparing herself to go back to her assigned seat. “And don’t worry, I’ll tell my parents to take pictures of you while you’re up there accepting your award.”

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm not exactly sure about the age differences in PLL, since they seem to change a lot, so I hope I got them semi-correct at least.


	4. Love is Friendship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes all something a person needs is a friend.

Summer was just as eventful as she had expected it to be, Melissa’s schedule has never been any more busier. Internships, volunteering, and keeping up with her relationship with Ian, was draining the life out of her.

 

The boy had become a bit distant, and the eldest Hastings girl wasn’t sure if it was because she had been too busy and hadn’t paid much attention to him or if it was because he had set his eyes on someone else.

 

Spencer had also started to act a bit out of the ordinary towards her, especially after starting her sophomore year at Rosewood High. Melissa wasn’t sure if it had anything to do with that new group of friends that she started hanging around with, or more specifically, Alison DiLaurentis. 

 

Yes, the brunette was aware of the fourteen-year old girl’s existence, given that she hung around a bunch of older kids and seemed to always be going their parties. She never understood what was so special about her, she was still kid, yet everyone seemed to either like her or fear her. 

 

At first, Melissa Hastings had no problem with young blonde girl, she was just  _ there.  _ But as soon as she noticed that the mischievous girl started to have some sort of influence on her little sister’s behavior, Melissa instantly grew to dislike her. Not to mention that the devious little brat had also started to subtly flirt with her boyfriend, that only fueled the anger that she already felt for the girl.

 

When the fall arrived, she had already enrolled in many classes at UPenn. She was hoping that her first year of college would go swell, given to how stressful the summer was for her. She hoped for a successful year with her grades, family, and love life.

 

**__________________**

It was strange. She had been attending classes at UPenn for almost three weeks now, and she couldn’t help but feel as if someone was watching her.

 

The feeling wasn’t frequent, but there were times when she sat in the library reading, and felt as if somebody was watching her. Everytime she would look up though, nobody in the room seemed to be paying any attention to her.

 

Maybe she was just overthinking. 

 

Maybe she was being paranoid. 

 

So continued to push those thoughts aside, and every time she started to feel as if she was being watched, she would convinced herself that it was nothing.

 

It never is just  _ nothing  _ though.

 

One Saturday night, Ian had brought her to another one of Eric Kahn’s parties. As it turns out, not even as a college student could Melissa escape having to hang out with that idiot. He and many other students from Rosewood High were also attending UPenn, so it wasn’t often that she was able to avoid them.

 

She doesn’t know why she allows for herself to get dragged to these parties, Ian doesn’t even pay attention to her when he’s with his friends. It really annoys her, the fact that she always lets this happen.

 

Melissa knows that she could be enjoying her night by herself, curled up in bed, reading a good book. That definitely sounds a lot more relaxing and entertaining than just sitting here, watching people that she knows get drunk and high.

 

It’s not that she didn’t enjoy parties, there were times that she did find herself having a good time, but when it becomes an everyday thing, it just turns into something very boring. 

 

Out of nowhere, the brunette felt as if she was being watched again. She looks around the room and finds herself locking eyes with a pair of very familiar blue orbs, that belonged to a blonde woman who was sitting across the room from her, next to her boyfriend and his friends.

 

She knows her.

 

She can feel a sense of familiarity from her, she just can’t remember from where. Did they go to highschool together? Maybe that’s where she recognized her from?

 

The blonde girl then stood up and made her way towards her, the girl’s eyes never leaving hers. 

 

“Wow!” the blonde exclaims in a playful tone. “It’s not everyday that you get to see THE Melissa Hastings all alone at a party without her boytoy or clique of brainy and popular friends.”

 

Melissa didn’t say anything for a moment and continued to observe her. She definitely knew her from somewhere, but why can’t she remember from where?!

 

She gave the blonde a blank expression. “Do I know you?” she asks her. “You look  _ familiar.” _

 

The blue eyed girl shrugs, “Maybe you do or maybe you don’t. And it doesn’t matter.” She responds. “I was just bored over there, and it seemed like you were too. So I thought why not make some new friends?”

 

The blonde’s phone suddenly lit up with the sound of it vibrating, indicating that she had just gotten a text message. Melissa let her eyes wander down to the screen and saw that she had gotten a text message from someone named Alison.

 

Wait.

 

Alison? The only Alison that she knew of was that bratty kid, Alison DiLaurentis who always seemed to be hanging around Ian, his friends, and a blonde girl-

 

“Aren’t you that girl that has that little teen, Alison, following her around like a lost puppy?” Melissa asks her as she takes a sip from her drink. 

 

_ Yeah _ , she thought.  _ Maybe that’s where I know her from. _

 

“Guilty.” the blonde replies with a small giggle, as she finished replying to the young girl’s text message. “I guess you could say I’m her role model.”

 

“That’s not really something that you should brag about,” Melissa smirks. If Alison DiLaurentis was already unbearable to her, she could only imagine how unbearable this stranger must be as well. “I thought you would’ve known that between her and I, there’s tension.”

 

“Oh, believe me I know.” she says. “But like you said it’s between you and her. So what does that have to do with me?”

 

Melissa doesn’t say anything in response, the girl did have a point, but she wasn’t about to say that out loud. So she said nothing and just continues to observe her. She still couldn’t help that itching feeling that was telling her that she knew this woman from somewhere else.

 

But from where? From where does she know her?

 

“You still haven’t told me who you are.” Melissa points out. Maybe if she hears her name, then she’ll remember where she knows the girl from.

 

The blonde smiles sweetly at her, “You’re right, I haven’t.” she speaks as she extends her hand towards her. “I’m Cece. Cece Drake.”

 

That name. She knows it! When was the last time she heard it?

 

Prom.

 

That’s it. This is the same girl that she saved from Darren during her prom night. The same girl who convinced Eric Kahn to rig the votes, in order to make her prom queen, despite the fact that she didn’t even attend Rosewood High.

 

Cece Drake. The mysterious girl that she never heard of again after that night.   
  
Melissa eyes her hand and then looks back at her. “Well Cece Drake,” she begins as she reluctantly accepted her handshake. However, she quickly removed it because she felt an odd feeling, as she held her hand. “Why don’t you tell me, why you decided to make your way towards me?”

 

Cece shrugs again, “What can I say,” she starts. “A pretty girl shouldn’t be alone at a party. It could be dangerous.”   
  
Melissa lets out a small laugh, “Please, I’m Ian Thomas’ girlfriend.” she exclaims. Was this girl always this friendly? “These boys would be complete fools if they even thought about messing around with his girlfriend.” 

 

“Well, I’m no boy.” Cece tells her and Melissa feels herself raise her eyebrows at the girl. “But I can be a fool sometimes.” She gives her a playful smile. And Melissa couldn’t help but smile back.     
  


It was inevitable, there was something contagious about her smile. “Do you always flirt with other people’s girlfriends?” the brunette questions, 

 

“Do you always have to question everything?”

 

Melissa shrugs. “I’m a Hastings.” she replies without thinking twice. “It’s what I do.”

 

Cece nods. “Do you ever question why your boyfriend rather hang out with his friends, instead of hanging out with his beautiful girlfriend?”

 

The brunette’s smile instantly drops, as she takes a big gulp of her beverage. “Yeah.” she whispers, looking over at Ian who seemed to be having the time of his life, drinking and cracking jokes with his pals. “All the time.”

 

Melissa took another big gulp of her drink, instantly finishing it. She wanted more. Another drink. Something to numb the pain of neglect that she was feeling. 

 

She quickly makes her way towards Eric Kahn’s mini bar and starts fixing herself another drink, making sure to fill up the red, plastic cup all the way to the top. She needs this right now. 

 

“Woah there.” she felt the blonde woman reach out to grab her hand. “Isn’t this a little too much?”

 

She shakes her head in response and fixes herself another cup, that way she wouldn’t have to stand up in a while. 

 

“Hey.” Cece grabs her hand again. “I-I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have joked around with something like that. I-I’m sorry for being so insensitive.”

 

Melissa was taken aback by the girl’s stammering, after the way she approached her with such confidence, she hadn’t expected her sudden shift in character. It reminded her of that night, where Wilden was basically harassing her. She had to admit, it broke her heart to see her that way.

 

“Hey, relax.” she tells her. “It’s not like what you said wasn’t true. I do sometimes question why he would rather pay more attention to other people instead of me.”

 

“Still, I-I should’ve known that it was a sensitive topic for you.” Cece replies, sounding a bit sad. “I shouldn’t have said anything that I know could have upset you-”

 

“Relax. It’s fine.” Melissa says again, as she looks down at the two cups in her hand. She then hands one to Cece. “Seems like we both should relax. It is a party after all, why don’t we enjoy ourselves?”

 

A small smiles begins to creep on the blonde’s face as she accepts the drink, “You’re right.” she replies. “Thank you.”

 

**__________________**

 

By the end of the night, they were both pretty drunk. Although, due to the fact that Melissa could barely stand on her own two feet, there was a small indication that was implying that the brunette might have been slightly (a lot) more drunk than the blonde was.

 

Melissa wasn’t really sure what was going on, her mind was all over the place. She doesn’t remember how, but she found herself waking up in an unfamiliar vehicle. 

 

“Thank you.” she heard someone say. For some reason, she was about to reply with a  _ you’re welcome,  _ but her head was throbbing so hard that she wasn’t even going to put any effort to do so. “Thank you for making me forget, even if it was just for one night.”

 

Forget? 

 

Forget what?

 

Speaking of forget, where the hell was she? Where the hell was she Ian?

 

Melissa moves her head and slightly opens her eyes. “Ian?” she calls out, her vision was still blurry. “Where are we?”

 

She didn’t hear him respond. Instead she felt herself being gently shaken awake. “Melissa.” she heard a sweet voice calling out to her. “You’re home.”

 

Melissa opened her eyes briefly and saw who the person was. Cece Drake. She smiles slightly before closing her eyes again, knowing that she was in good hands. She didn’t know why, but she trusted the blonde girl. She had spent the whole night talking to her, and she wasn’t as bad as she thought she would be. 

 

Also the fact that the woman didn’t just abandoned her and went on with her life without giving her a second thought, really made the brunette like her way more. She was a stranger, she could’ve just left her there, but she didn’t. And that’s something that really touched her in that moment.

 

Eventually, she felt herself being dragged out of the car and onto her front doorstep by the blonde, she even helped her keep her balance as the brunette searched for her house keys.

 

In the end, Melissa felt so much gratitude towards the blonde that she just  _ had _ to express how she was feeling. So she did. She leaned in, attempting and failing to place a kiss on her cheek, but she paid no mind to it and wished the blonde a good night.

 

**__________________**

 

As it turns out, Cece Drake just so happens to attend the same school as her: UPenn. When Melissa saw her in the library, she had to be honest, she felt really joyous. There seemed to be something about the peculiar blonde, that really intrigued her. 

 

Not only was she incredibly stunning, but she had this light in her that she appeared to be attracted to like a moth. 

 

They had instantly become fast friends. Finally, Melissa Hastings had someone who she could actually call a  _ friend.  _ Someone who she could call to hang out with, not to do homework together but to  _ just _ to hang out with.    
  


It was nice. Having a genuine friend. Someone who didn’t just hang out with her just because she was Ian Thomas’ girlfriend. Someone who didn’t hang out with her just because she was the intelligent Melissa Hastings. She was someone who wanted to hang out with her, with Melissa.

 

And that was something she was extremely grateful for. 

**Author's Note:**

> I should be doing homework right now, oh well.


End file.
